What We've Been Up To

Being here is not very different than being there for me. I still tend to my children, make meals (although my mother does bless me and the children with her delicious dinners), give baths, do laundry, keep the house clean - all the stuff I usually do in AZ.

But, it's different. While I'm typing this I occasionally look out the window to see a forest of trees, green grass and wildlife. Yesterday we had a thunderstorm. Lots of rain, dark skies, and thunder.

Mostly, the children play outside all day - on the swings, taking walks in the woods, just plain having fun. My mom also hosts a little "school" for the kids. For an hour or two a day she's the teacher and Carena and Colt are the students. They love having school.

During Jonathan's naps and in the evenings, I have been reading These Is My Words. I just finished it yesterday and if no one had been around I would have sobbed my heart out. I love that book! It is now my number 1 favorite (sorry Jane Eyre). Thank you to all those who have recommended that book.

I've taken a few walks through the woods. Jonathan and I took a walk down to the third pond and saw a new tree that has fallen. I'll take a picture of that and post it later.

I've seen some wildlife. The other night we saw a skunk. Yesterday the kids and I saw two pileated woodpeckers (the big ones that look like Woody Woodpecker) - which was a rare treat since they tend to be a bit elusive. But the most wonderful thing we've seen is a mother deer and her new little fawn. We noticed the mother just outside the kitchen window and then noticed some movement in the ferns and saw a wobbly-legged spotted fawn. We think that the mother placed the fawn there so close to the house, because she felt it was safe. With so much activity here at the house, coyotes, bears and other predators are more likely to stay away, making this a safe refuge for the fawn while the mother would graze nearby.

We're not too exciting, but just hearing the trees rustle in the wind is fun to me.